A Young Woman's Heart

School ended early on Friday, but the students rushed out of the school gate more urgently than usual.

Many people want to take advantage of the time when school ends early to go somewhere fun with their friends.

When she was in elementary school, Mo Xueyao loved to find a quiet open space with her friends on this afternoon, where they would lie on the ground and play marbles, play with magnets, or flip cards.

I often play until dark and don't want to go home.

But for the Snow Music Band, the 'happy' time has only just begun.

"We have a performance next Tuesday, so let's practice! We've been super lazy lately!" Hua Yinyin grabbed her pipa and strummed it haphazardly a few times, then shouted, "Little Yaoyao, don't be lazy!"

"Hey, who was the laziest person before?" Mo Xueyao pressed the "D1" key on the keyboard in dissatisfaction. "It was one of the captains of the Snow Music Band!"

"Ahem! I practice at home!" Hua Yinyin said without batting an eye.

"I practice too!" Mo Zhuyou twirled the drumstick in her hand.

"Hey, you don't even bring your drum set home from Monday to Thursday, what are you practicing for!" Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes.

"It's the weekend!"

"So it turns out I'm the one who practices the most every day..." Wang Jiale sighed helplessly.

Mr. Xue started playing the suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument) mischievously by the window, turning the entire band room into chaos. Yu Shu took the opportunity to quickly snap a few photos, the 'click-click' sound making the room even noisier.

"Knock knock." There was a knock on the classroom door, but it wasn't very noticeable in the noise. So the knocking continued for a few more times, and finally the door was pushed open by itself.

It wasn't Li Wanyan and Mo Xiaoxiao who came in, but Su Yuqing, a teacher from the medical affairs office who wasn't usually seen.

“Um…” The petite Su Yuqing looked more like a student than a teacher. She looked inside somewhat shyly, her short, ear-length hair clinging obediently to her small face.

Everyone fell silent instantly.

Hua Yinyin was the first to ask curiously, "Oh, Teacher Su, what brings you here today?"

"Well, actually..." Su Yuqing walked into the classroom with a slightly flushed face. Mr. Xue, who was sitting by the window, immediately pulled out a chair and gestured for her to sit down.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on her, she couldn't help but touch her slightly flushed face, take a deep breath, and finally said, "I want to ask you for a favor, which is... um... help me compose a piece of music."

"Composing music? That's my specialty! What style do you want?" Hua Yinyin patted her chest confidently, as if she were making a promise.

Su Yuqing lowered her head, took out a neatly folded piece of brown paper from her pocket, unfolded it, and placed it on the table: "This, I've already written the lyrics..."

"To compose music from lyrics?" Mr. Xue nodded. "No problem."

"Really? As for the style... you guys can decide for yourselves. And it would be best if you could perform this song at next Tuesday's show, okay?"

"Time is a bit tight..." Mo Xueyao was a little worried.

Hua Yinyin glanced at the kraft paper, then immediately slammed her hand on the table: "Don't worry, don't worry, we've got your back, absolutely no problem!"

Mo Xueyao glanced helplessly at Mr. Xue, hoping he would say something, but the latter just smiled and seemed to be very confident.

"So...that's it? Thank you all." Su Yuqing stood up and bowed, but everyone quickly stopped her.

As soon as she left, the classroom erupted in chaos.

"Hey, no way! We haven't even mastered 'Colorful Cloud Ice Cream' yet!" Mo Zhuyou exclaimed, quite worried as she was the one with the worst foundation and talent.

"My bass is fine, but did Haruka memorize her lines?"

Hua Yinyin put the pipa aside: "No problem, I'll sing the lead!"

Even so... composing music can't be that fast, can it?

"I……"

“I can do it,” Mr. Xue interrupted Hua Yinyin.

This made her put her hands on her hips in dissatisfaction: "Hey, composing music is clearly my job!"

"I've roughly figured out how to write the piece."

"Huh? Really?" Even Hua Yinyin was surprised. After all, this wasn't free creation, but a 'topic assignment'. There wasn't even enough time to think about the musical style.

"Hmm." Mr. Xue took out Hua Yinyin's composition notebook from the drawer and quickly wrote on it. "The piece is divided into four parts. The first part is mysterious and ethereal, the second part is soothing and melodious, the third part is expectant and longing, and the fourth part is angry and desperate. The score for the first part is..."

To everyone's astonishment, Mr. Xue finished writing the full score and individual scores for each person in one go.

That is, the piano version, bass version, drum set version, pipa version, and suona version.

The bamboo flute, which was used at the beginning to create an ethereal and mysterious atmosphere, was also included.

It's as if every stroke of the pen becomes a book.

Even Mo Xueyao isn't that fast at writing English essays during exams!

“It is possible…but…wouldn’t it be a bit difficult for everyone?” Hua Yinyin was the first to recover from her surprise, and she offered her advice from a professional perspective.

"Yes, it was my oversight; I didn't consider that." After all, it was an impromptu creation, and even Mr. Xue was bound to have oversights.

“I think we should simplify this part, and then the drumbeats here…” Hua Yinyin discussed with Mr. Xue with a serious expression. About an hour later, the song was officially completed.

Then we just need to see if there are any problems during the actual performance and make targeted modifications.

"So who will be the lead singer?"

"This song... well, it suits you best." Hua Yinyin winked at Mo Xueyao. "Little Yaoyao's voice is perfect for it."

"Me? Ugh... I have to carry things again." She covered her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

"I feel like it'll be a really good song," Wang Jiale said, sounding quite eager to try it out.

"Then let's try playing it now!" Hua Yinyin couldn't wait any longer.

"Oh dear, wait a minute, I haven't even gotten used to the score yet!" Mo Zhuyou exclaimed, sweating profusely.

"It's alright, it's alright, let's get familiar with it while we're playing the drums!" Hua Yinyin nodded to Mr. Xue, and the two of them started with a prelude.

Mo Xueyao placed the lyrics in front of her and somewhat clumsily began to play the electronic keyboard:

"The girl, as delicate as a porcelain doll, opened her eyes."

Like an ancient, still well, it is ancient and serene.

I became friends with the doll in that bleak autumn after the rain.

She doesn't like to speak; she hides everything in her eyes.

The drawing on the paper is incredibly lifelike.

But occasionally you can see her scribbling lines haphazardly.

Beneath her expressionless face, a jumble of thoughts swirled.

Standing in the dark room, I long for the sunlight outside the window.

She finally mustered the courage to go out, only to be met with a chilling snowfall.

Her anger mingled with the red and white snowmelt, and she hummed her final song in the frosty cold.

Even the fish that leaps out with all its might will one day sprout wings and soar through the air.

Even if it was the end of life by then.

Spread your wings, angels!

Flying towards the distant sky...

No turning back.

This was the first attempt, and apart from Hua Yinyin and Mr. Xue, everyone else made some mistakes in their playing and couldn't keep up with the rhythm. Mo Xueyao, who had to play the piano and sing at the same time, even sang off-key, but that didn't stop everyone from feeling the charm of the song.

Li Wanyan and Mo Xiaoxiao, the two 'older sisters', stood at the door and looked at each other.

The latter covered her mouth and smiled, while the former understood and walked downstairs.

The two of them tacitly refrained from disturbing Mo Xueyao and the others, who were immersed in their world of music...

“I think we should do it again from ‘standing in a dark room’ before ending it.” Wang Jiale’s face was slightly flushed, and she seemed a little excited.

"Yes, that's fine." Hua Yinyin nodded.

Mo Xueyao wiped the sweat from her forehead: "I mean, those two lines at the beginning, 'She finally,' are so long, it's so tiring to sing them..."

Mo Zhuyou had a sudden inspiration, and she slammed her hand on the drum. After everyone looked at her, she quickly shouted, "How about turning these two lines of lyrics into a rap?"

"Rap? Hmm, that's good!" Wang Jiale tried singing it in his head and nodded vigorously.

"How about we give these two lines of rap to Xiaoxue?" Hua Yinyin looked at Mr. Xue. "Is that alright, Xiaoxue? It's perfect that we can remove the suona part so it won't drown out the sound."

"can."

Hua Yinyin was acting like a real team leader at this moment, starting to point out everyone's mistakes. It was really hard on her—she had to play the pipa while keeping an eye on everyone else's situation: "First of all, Xiao Yaoyao! You're off-key! This line needs to be played a little higher, and you didn't keep up with the rhythm, and you played it wrong several times! And then Lele..."

She went on like that, and finally pointed to herself triumphantly: "As for me, I'm definitely fine, but Xiaoxue does have a problem!"

"Tch, you have problems but Xiaoxue doesn't, okay?" Mo Xueyao said sarcastically, her eyelids drooping. "Stop trying to make yourself look good."

"To be precise, it's not a bad problem. On the contrary, it's precisely because his playing skills are too high that the ensemble is a bit out of sync." Hua Yinyin said, glancing sideways at Mo Xueyao. "It's better for someone like Xiaoyaoyao, who's only half-baked, not to interrupt! Look, Xiaoxue, this is it. This isn't the beginning. Your bamboo flute is meant to coordinate with others. The rhythm is set by the keyboard, not you! Your skills and emotions are too rich, which actually overshadows the others. Hmm... you can fully utilize your skills when it comes to the suona."

“I understand,” Mr. Xue said with a smile, not minding at all. “It’s my fault.”

"OK! Let's do it again!"

A band's performance always requires a lot of practice. Even Mo Xueyao, who has perfect pitch, has to play the music dozens of times before it becomes muscle memory.

After all, when performing on stage, if something unexpected happens, you rely entirely on instinct.

If you're not skilled enough, the system might crash on the spot.

……

Chapter Thirty-One: Re-examination

The setting sun cast a long shadow of Mo Xueyao. The fruit shop was right in front of her. She rushed up the steps, ran into the room to put away her electronic keyboard and schoolbag, and then breathed a sigh of relief before plopping down on a bench.

Li Wanyan, who was walking behind, simply placed her schoolbag next to the counter and immediately began to help her mother.

In the afternoons, my father is usually not home. If he is busy with business, he doesn't even have time to eat, let alone cook.

So sometimes, she'll cook dinner.

"Yaoyao, look how readily Wanyan has started helping since she came back, while you just sit there, really."